Abstract
This study was undertaken to investigate the readiness of Gauteng public schools to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). In doing so, the study looked at the following research questions:
1. What are the challenges faced by public schools to meet the demands of the 4IR?
2. Are teachers fully equipped with the necessary skills to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
3. Does school management have the necessary skills to lead the schools to the 4IR?
4. Do public schools have effective security to accommodate the needed gadgets in meeting the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
Change is feared by many people because of the uncertainties that it brings. However, in 2020, the COVID 19 pandemic; caused many organisations to reconsider their day-to-day practices. This has, therefore, necessitated that the researcher investigates the readiness of Gauteng public schools to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
We live in a world that is influenced by technology daily and it demands that teachers and learners across the globe become familiar with technology in teaching and learning. Technology has become a massive part of human beings’ lives because it enables people to interact with one another between digital domains (Kayembe and Nel, 2019). The researcher argues that public schools are not yet ready to meet the demands of the 4IR due to the debates that took place when the learners had to return to school at the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic.
In the literature review, the researcher tried to show that there was a gap in the literature, especially when it comes to public schools and their readiness to prepare learners to meet the demands of the 4IR. When discussing the importance of the 4IR in South Africa’s education, it shows that we need to reshape, train, and prepare our learners and society for the transformation that is currently taking place. Education
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plays a vital role in ensuring that the future generation is prepared and well-equipped with the necessary skills to survive in the 4IR world. When discussing the opportunities and challenges of the 4IR, the literature has revealed that indeed change is good, but it can also come with risks such as crime, and exposing the inequalities that exist and need to be addressed with the impact of the 4IR. Many references and focus during the study were drawn from the COVID 19 pandemic because even though it might be seen as an obstacle; it has influenced the study and necessitated the need that we look into the readiness of public schools to meet the demands of the 4IR, and what might be hindering the schools into keeping up with those demands.
The study followed a qualitative research methodology to make meaning of the views of the individuals or groups. The researcher followed a case study research design approach with the aim of gaining insight into a particular phenomenon making meaning of it through an inductive process, with the researcher as the “main instrument” (Baxter and Jack, 2008; Merriam and Tisdell, 2016).
The case study research design approach allowed for a comprehensive investigation of a phenomenon while maintaining the meaningful elements of real life events (Yin, 2009). When conducting a case study on the proposed study, a comprehensive investigation was conducted and different perspectives and views on the implementation and process of leading public schools towards the 4IR were obtained. In employing the qualitative research approach, the researcher explored the teachers’ and school leaders’ views through semi-structured interviews on the readiness of Gauteng public schools to meet the demands of the 4IR. The researcher sampled two public schools to collect data namely, a primary and high school, and purposefully selected eight teachers, two school managers and one district official.
Some of the findings revealed that public schools are not yet ready to meet the demands of the 4IR due to a variety of challenges that ranged from teacher development and training, lack of resources and financial constraints, lack of digital literacy for parents and learners, and connectivity problems. Recommendations include training and development for teachers, procurement of digital devices by
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school SGBs, training for learners and parents, and partnering with leading network companies.
Keywords: Fourth Industrial Revolution; public schools, learning, vision statement, multidisciplinary education, transformational leadership, traditional teaching.